This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Army News

  • A Presidential Proclamation

     

    USS Virginia BB13

    By Presidential Proclamation, November 2018 is Military Families and Veterans’ Month.

    https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/11/01/trump-extends-veterans-day-celebrations-through-all-of-november/

    President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Wednesday designating November 2018 as National Veterans and Military Families Month.

    “I encourage all communities, all sectors of society, and all Americans to acknowledge and honor the service, sacrifices, and contributions of veterans and military families for what they have done and for what they do every day to support our great Nation,” the president said in a press statement posted to the White House’s website.

    Trump issued the proclamation while also championing his commitment to the veterans community.

    “I was pleased to sign into law the landmark VA MISSION Act of 2018, which revolutionizes the way veterans receive healthcare and other services vital to their lives,” he said in the statement.

    For full coverage of Veterans Day and veterans’ affairs events this month, visit Military Times’ Veterans Month Salute page

    (N.B.: He did this last year, too, but it went unnoticed in the media. This year, it showed up. Maybe they’ve mellowed a little.)

     

     

  • Military plane inadvertently drops Humvee over Harnett County neighborhood

    A C-17 military plane dropped a Humvee prematurely over a neighborhood in Harnett County Wednesday afternoon, Fort Bragg officials confirmed.

    No one was injured.

    The neighborhood is in the town of Cameron. This incident occurred around 1 p.m. during a training exercise.

    “A load of some kind was released early and we’re looking into how it happened,” said Michael Novogradac, a spokesman for the USArmy’s Operational Test Command.

    The C-17 aircraft carries supplies and equipment into war zones and, on Wednesday, the special operations team was practicing that type of scenario when the accident happened.

    Only two items were aboard the aircraft, which was flying at about 1,500 feet in altitude — the Humvee and a new heavy drop platform.

    About a mile from the drop zone at Fort Bragg, the platform went out the back of the C-17.

    “Everything went as planned except for the early release,” said Fort Bragg spokesperson Tom McCollum.

    “Close” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.


    Source: Military plane inadvertently drops Humvee over Harnett County neighborhood, Fort Bragg officials say | abc11.com

  • Reach out and touch someone.

    artyA M777A2 howitzer fires a 155 mm round equipped with a M1156 Precision Guidance Kit fuze during a live-fire exercise at Orogrande Range Complex, New Mexico, Aug. 7, 2016. (Photo by Wendy Brown, Fort Bliss Bugle)

    “Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be an ugly brawl.”

    Major breakthrough: Army artillery hits target at 38 miles, doubling range

    The Army has successfully fired a 155mm artillery round 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) – marking a technical breakthrough in the realm of land-based weapons and progressing toward its stated goal of being able to outrange and outgun Russian and Chinese weapons.

    “We just doubled the range of our artillery at Yuma Proving Ground,” Gen. John Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command, told reporters at the recent Association of the United States Army Annual Symposium.

    Currently, most land-fired artillery shot from an M777 Towed Howitzer or Self-Propelled Howitzer are able to pinpoint targets out to 30km (18.6 miles) – so hitting 62km marks a substantial leap forward in offensive attack capability.

    Murray was clear that the intent of the effort, described as Extended Range Cannon Artillery, is specifically aimed at regaining tactical overmatch against Russian and Chinese weapons.

    “The Russian and Chinese have been able to outrange most of our systems,” Murray said.

    Citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “wake-up call,” Murray explained that Russian weaponry, tactics and warfare integration caused a particular concern among Army leaders.

    “In Ukraine, we saw the pairing of drones with artillery, using drones as spotters. Their organizational structure and tactics were a wake-up call for us to start looking at a more serious strategy,” Murray explained.

    I’m way out of my swim lane here- the only friendly “artillery” I was exposed to was Naval Gun Fire Support (NGFS) missions flown in conjunction with USS New Jersey during A Very Bad Time in the Med. They were not a lot of fun to fly. So more power to you Gun Bunnies and Cannon Cockers, 2x the range is a good start, and I am 100% behind using UAVs to spot.

    Peruse the entire article at your leisure Here.

  • Army moves to Hollow Point Ammo

    kel tec 2k

    Poetrooper joins us this morning with some thoughts.

    I missed this back in February when I was engaged in that damned radiation and chemo therapy to kill the devil tumor in my throat. I suppose I shouldn’t say “damned” because together they kept me alive enough to still pound this keyboard although I could still be classified as WIA from friendly fire. Anyhow, I just ran across this article while surfing for accessories for the Kel-Tec Sub-2000 9mm carbine I bought a few weeks ago. It’s a sweet little piece that takes the same mags as my Beretta 92. And already having a bunch of those and a ton of stored 9mm, both ball and jacketed hollow point, it was a no-brainer addition to ol’ Poe’s armamentarium that lets me reach out beyond pistol range with a 9mm hollow point and touch bad guys with more muzzle velocity and more foot pounds of energy on impact, making it a more memorable experience for them; which is also the point of this move by the Army, making a close encounter with our bold warriors a more memorable experience for these unlawful combatants we face around the globe.
    9mm mags
    This is a very informative article, with lots of links on the legal issues surrounding the Army’s decision to begin issuing hollow point rounds for use in combat. Like most folks, I’d always thought any type of hollow point ammunition was banned by the Geneva Conventions although I’d also heard that proscription applied only to use against signatories of that treaty. As it turns out, the military legal eagles have finally stifled their reluctance to ratify that exception and the Army, and I assume the other services as well, will finally have pistol ammunition that affords a greater chance of killing or disabling an enemy contender. All I can say is, “It’s about frickin’ time.” Here’s the article from earlier this year:

    US Army Adopts hollow-point ammo M-17 M-18

    If Jonn covered this while I was MIA, please forgive an old man’s duplication.

    Thanks PT, nothing to forgive and it’s great to have you back.

  • Pentagon identifies US soldier killed in Afghanistan

    Pentagon identifies US soldier killed in Afghanistan

    The Defense Department on Friday released the name of the soldier who was killed this week in Afghanistan.

    Spc. James Slape, 23, died Thursday in Helmand province from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. He was deployed in support of Operations Resolute Support and Freedom’s Sentinel.

    Slape, of Morehead City, North Carolina, was assigned to 60th Troop Command, North Carolina Army National Guard.

    The incident is under investigation, officials said.

    Additional information about Slape was not immediately available.

     

  • Reasons why we can not have nice things.

    JBLM soldier playing with handgun shoots girlfriend, police say

    A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier playing with a pistol shot and wounded his girlfriend Tuesday in Lakewood, according to Pierce County prosecutors.

    The 21-year-old was charged Thursday with one count of third-degree assault and released on his own recognizance with orders to live on base.

    The soldier is a specialist within the 7th Infantry Division, division spokesman Lt. Col. Roger Cabiness said.

    According to charging documents:

    Police and West Pierce Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched Tuesday night to a report of an accidental shooting at an apartment in the 8100 block of 83rd Avenue Southwest.

    First responders found the solider applying pressure to a wound on the right side of his 21-year-old girlfriend of four months. She told police they had just returned to his apartment after getting dinner when she heard a gunshot and fell to the ground.

    He ran to her and began administering first aid and called 911.

    The woman told medics her legs were tingling and she could barely feel her toes, but the extent of her injuries are unknown.

    The man gave a brief statement at the scene, saying the couple had just gotten back to his apartment from dinner. He always has a pistol with him, and thought he cleared the rounds from it when they returned.

    He said he didn’t realize it was loaded until it went off and the bullet hit his girlfriend.

    He gave a more detailed interview later, admitting he was playing with the gun and pointed it at his girlfriend, joking he was robbing her. He pulled the trigger, thinking the gun wasn’t loaded.

    It was loaded, and the gun went off and shot his girlfriend, he said.

    I can not envision what would happen if I pointed a weapon at the Soviet.  There are several different things that make her legs tingle and there are even brief moments when she can barely feel her toes.  However, I never play “Point the Gun” with her.

  • One of the last legendary WWII soldiers to make four combat jumps into Europe has died

    505British troops of the 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry chat with an American paratrooper of the 505th PIR in Avola, Sicily, July 11, 1943. (Wikimedia)

    Sad news about one of America’s Greatest Generation, who has passed.

    Former Staff Sgt. Russell Brown was one of the legendary paratroopers who made every combat jump during World War II, forever cementing his place in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division.

    Brown passed away Aug. 31 at the age of 96 in Georgetown, Kentucky, according to an obituary. A spokesman for the 82nd Airborne confirmed the Purple Heart recipient had been one of the lauded soldiers who parachuted into Salerno and Sicily, Italy, as well as Normandy, France, and Njimegen, Holland.

    His story was featured in “Four Stars of Valor: The Combat History of the 505th Parachute Infantry” and “All American, All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division,” non-fiction accounts by Phil Nordyke, where he told the story of his time as a mortar squad leader with Brown, who had been a mortar squad leader with F Company.

    After the Army, Brown went to work as an explosives technician at DuPont and Co. He is survived by two daughters, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, according to his obituary.

    Fair winds and following seas, SSgt. Brown

    Army Times Link

  • Army’s Ranger School set to graduate first enlisted woman.

    Army’s Ranger School set to graduate first enlisted woman.

    U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Amanda F. Kelly will graduate from the Army’s Ranger School on August 31, 2018. Kelly is the first enlisted woman to graduate from the grueling leadership school.

    Staff Sergeant Amanda F. Kelly, 29, from Easley, South Carolina will receive her Ranger tab in a graduation ceremony at the Hurley Hill Training Area at Fort Benning, the U.S. Army base located on the Alabama-Georgia border next to Columbus.

    Faye, an electronic warfare technician by trade, is currently assigned to the 1st Armored Division, Combat Aviation Brigade out of Fort Bliss, located in both New Mexico and Texas. Prior to undergoing the grueling 62-day training curriculum at Ranger school, Faye previously served in South Korea for two years before later deploying to Iraq for nine months. She returned to the U.S. back in March.

    To date, 12 women have successfully graduated from the course—Army Captain Kristen Griest and 1st Lieutenant Shaye Haver, 25, became the first women to graduate from school back in 2015 before the school was opened to women on a full time basis, according to The Washington Post.

    Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Kelly.  She earned the TAB, she should wear it with pride.